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  • From cosmopolitans to vibrators, the cultural heft of Sex and the City | Fashion

    From cosmopolitans to vibrators, the cultural heft of Sex and the City | Fashion

    Before Sex and the City, the cosmopolitan was just vodka, cranberry juice, Cointreau and lime juice. Afterwards it was a symbol of girlfriends, sex, flirting and freedom. But it wasn’t only the image of the pink cocktail that the show revolutionised.

    From the time it first aired in 1998, the show – and to a lesser extent its descendant, And Just Like That – has shaped the way we dress, eat, drink, date, exercise and work. What it did for the cosmo it also did for everything from nameplate necklaces to vibrators, catapulting them to pop-culture phenomenon status.

    “It was quite startling, the effect it had,” said Jennifer Keishin Armstrong, the author of Sex and the City and Us, which includes a chapter about SATC capitalism. “It even changed the way we brunch. Overnight, we all understood that you go to brunch with your girlfriends to talk explicitly about sex.”

    So what are the items that the SATC universe supercharged?

    Cosmopolitans

    “This was not a mainstream drink before,” said Armstrong. “But I think it will forever be a staple on cocktail menus because of SATC. It was the perfect drink for the show. It’s pink, so it reads as feminine, and it looks great on screen.”

    No longer just vodka, cranberry juice, Cointreau and lime juice. Photograph: Getty Images/iStockphoto

    It might now be a drinks order that would raise a smirk with a well-seasoned bartender, but it still stands for more than the sum of its parts.

    Peloton

    When Big died of a heart attack after his 1,000th Peloton workout in the first episode of And Just Like That, it inextricably linked the brand to a moment of televisual tragedy. Peloton spokespeople were quick to point out that Big’s unhealthy lifestyle was to blame and not their bike. The company even put out a parody advert featuring Chris Noth, the actor who played Big, alive and healthy (which it reportedly removed after sexual assault allegations surfaced against him).

    But the cultural harm was perhaps already done. “I’m unsure if it was that exact moment, but I really don’t see/hear people talking about them as much as they used to,” said Stephen Leng, who runs the Instagram fan account SamanthaJonesPR. “Perhaps we all moved on after the pandemic, perhaps it was the cultural impact of Mr Big’s death.”

    Apple laptop

    Carrie Bradshaw’s laptop was a character unto itself, the screen upon which various sentences of her columns were written, generally crescendoing up to the phrase “I couldn’t help but wonder”. Armstrong got hers “essentially because of Carrie,” she said. “I remember getting my first Mac laptop and taking it to a park in the West Village to write and very much cosplaying Carrie.” Bradshaw’s laptop now resides in the Smithsonian.

    Nameplate necklaces

    They are now so synonymous with Bradshaw that to many they are known simply as “Carrie necklaces”, but the costume designer Patricia Field says in her book that she first spotted them on young Hispanic and African-American customers who came to her shop. Since criticised for culturally appropriating the necklace, she said in a 2023 interview: “Yes, I appropriated the name necklace from the multitude of young, gorgeous girls who were my customers in my shop. The name necklace always caught my eye, but I have always given the credit to them.”

    According to Leng, it is “one of the only fashion items that Carrie ever wore that was really accessible … They’re still sold all over the world”.

    Fendi Baguette bag

    Launched in 1997, a year before Bradshaw hit screens, this luxury handbag is now rarely mentioned without connection to the character. “It’s not a bag,” Bradshaw once corrected a thief trying to steal her from her. “It’s a Baguette.”

    Carrie Bradshaw’s Fendi Baguette Photograph: Tristan Fewings/Getty Images

    Searches on secondhand retail sites prove there’s still appetite for vintage Baguettes, with Sarah Jessica Parker regularly wearing the bag, out of character, over the years.

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    Cigarettes

    In some quarters and for all the damage they do, cigarettes seem to be back in fashion, and Bradshaw might well be one of the original smoking influencers, referenced along with James Dean or Audrey Hepburn. Often seen with a cigarette in hand, while writing, while drinking, while sitting on her stoop, Bradshaw’s smoking was a major plot point in early seasons, and the series won a 2001 award for accurate depiction of a nicotine addiction.

    Manolos

    Bradshaw’s feet were no stranger to Jimmy Choos and Christian Louboutins, but it was shoes by the Spanish-born, London-based designer Manolo Blahnik that really clicked, becoming a regular wardrobe choice and plot point. People took note.

    “Carrie’s complete obsession with them meant that I, a gay teenager growing up in rural Hampshire, knew that they were the shoe to covet,” said Leng. “Even now, I can spot a real one from a mile off.”

    There was the episode where Bradshaw took umbrage at having to take them off for a party, and another where she got mugged for some. Most famous perhaps is that she was proposed to via a pair of blue satin and brooch bejewelled Hangisi Manolo Blahnik pumps. The shoe went on to become one of the designer’s best-selling designs.

    The Rabbit

    The show is credited with bringing vibrators out of the shadows, ushering in a new era of sexual consumerism. The Rabbit first featured in an episode in 1998. The day after, people who worked at sex-toy shops reported queues around the block.

    SATC “had an absolutely insane effect on Rabbit vibrator sales,” said Armstrong. “This named the model and also made it feel more safe and normal to a lot of women, especially with the character of Charlotte being the one who got addicted, given that she was the most conservative of the group.”

    Post-it notes

    “I’m sorry, I can’t. Don’t hate me.” These are the words that will run through the head of SATC fans whenever they see a Post-it. Written by Bradshaw’s brief love interest Jack Berger, the actor Ron Livingston reportedly suffered the consequences of his avoidant breakup style in real life after the episode aired, having to hide from angry fans.

    Others have since noted that what in 2003 felt like an off-key way to end things, it feels “borderline romantic” in the 2020s era of ghosting. You can buy replicas on Etsy.

    Vivienne Westwood wedding dress

    Despite being jilted not quite at the altar wearing a Vivienne Westwood design in 2008, Bradshaw made the late British designer the go-to for anti-brides of a certain age. ”The fact that Charli XCX wore a Viv dress for her extremely East London wedding earlier this summer shows the lasting impact that Carrie – running out of her wedding before whacking Big on the head with her bouquet – has had on the zeitgeist,” Leng said. “It’s possible Carrie’s gown did as much for the high-end wedding dress industry as Vera Wang achieved in her whole career.”


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  • Pakistani Rupee Hits Almost 2-Month High Against US Dollar

    Pakistani Rupee Hits Almost 2-Month High Against US Dollar

    The Pakistani Rupee (PKR) appreciated by 16 paisa against the US Dollar (USD) on Friday in the interbank trading and closed at Rs. 282.06 against the previous day’s closing of Rs. 282.22.

    The price of the Euro decreased by Rs. 0.87 to close at Rs. 329.58 against the last day’s closing of Rs. 330.45, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

    The Japanese yen went up by 01 paisa and closed at Rs. 1.92, while the exchange rate of the British Pound witnessed an increase of 07 paisa to close at Rs. 382.36 against the last day’s closing of Rs. 382.29.

    The exchange rates of the Emirates Dirham and the Saudi Riyal decreased by 04 and 03 paisa and closed at Rs. 76.79 and Rs. 75.17, respectively.


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  • CrowdStrike Leads Cybersecurity Into the Agentic AI Era

    CrowdStrike Leads Cybersecurity Into the Agentic AI Era

    Sold-out event will draw 8,000 attendees, 110 partners and 3,000+ leading organizations from 65 countries, cementing Fal.Con as the industry’s most influential cybersecurity conference

    AUSTIN, Texas – August 15, 2025 – CrowdStrike (NASDAQ: CRWD) today announced record-breaking momentum for its flagship conference Fal.Con, which has sold out faster than ever and is poised to deliver unprecedented growth across every key metric. From September 15 – 18, more than 8,000 attendees from over 65 countries and 25 industries will converge at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The event will host a record 110 partner sponsors and more than 3,000 leading organizations, positioning Fal.Con as the global stage for cybersecurity in the Agentic AI era.

    “Fal.Con has become the premier industry conference for cybersecurity,” said Jennifer Johnson, chief marketing officer at CrowdStrike. “We’re not hosting a summit, we’re leading a movement. The world’s most influential leaders come to Fal.Con to advance cybersecurity into the AI era, build alliances, and harness the power of the Falcon platform to secure the organizations, economies and technologies shaping our future.”

    Now in its ninth year, Fal.Con will unite the world’s top defenders, executives, and innovators to accelerate breakthroughs, forge industry-shaping partnerships, and set the strategic cybersecurity agenda for the year ahead. Under the 2025 theme “Leading Cybersecurity into the Agentic AI Era,” attendees will experience visionary keynotes from CrowdStrike executives. As part of the 300+ session catalog, the program will feature 150+ customer and partner-led sessions from global leaders such as Charter Communications, Land O’Lakes, Mars Inc., Northwestern Mutual, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, University of Michigan, Vail Resorts, and WeightWatchers.

    Fal.Con One, the conference’s exclusive CxO program, will also convene 200+ leaders from the world’s most innovative organizations for high-impact, closed-door discussions on the future of cybersecurity, the transformative role of AI, and strategies to outpace adversaries. 

    Fal.Con 2025 will also showcase the unmatched strength of CrowdStrike’s global partner ecosystem, welcoming more than 110 partner sponsors from across the cybersecurity landscape, the most in the conference’s history. Premier sponsors AWS, Dell, and Intel will be joined by Diamond sponsors ExtraHop, Google Cloud, Okta, Rubrik, and Zscaler.

    Attendees can also register for full-day CrowdStrike University training courses to elevate their skills, sharpen their expertise, and advance their impact as defenders.

    The event begins on Monday, September 15, with CrowdStrike’s annual Global Partner Summit, where more than 1,000 partner participants will unite to accelerate innovation, expand go-to-market opportunities, and drive joint success with the Falcon platform.

    Join the Action at Fal.Con

    Register to live stream the keynotes and access 80+ sessions on-demand following the event. Start planning now: Build your digital Fal.Con 2025 agenda here.

    About CrowdStrike

    CrowdStrike (NASDAQ: CRWD), a global cybersecurity leader, has redefined modern security with the world’s most advanced cloud-native platform for protecting critical areas of enterprise risk – endpoints and cloud workloads, identity and data.

    Powered by the CrowdStrike Security Cloud and world-class AI, the CrowdStrike Falcon® platform leverages real-time indicators of attack, threat intelligence, evolving adversary tradecraft and enriched telemetry from across the enterprise to deliver hyper-accurate detections, automated protection and remediation, elite threat hunting and prioritized observability of vulnerabilities.

    Purpose-built in the cloud with a single lightweight-agent architecture, the Falcon platform delivers rapid and scalable deployment, superior protection and performance, reduced complexity and immediate time-to-value.

    CrowdStrike: We stop breaches.

    Learn more: https://www.crowdstrike.com/

    Follow us: Blog | X | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram

    Start a free trial today: https://www.crowdstrike.com/free-trial-guide/

    © 2025 CrowdStrike, Inc. All rights reserved. CrowdStrike and CrowdStrike Falcon are marks owned by CrowdStrike, Inc. and are registered in the United States and other countries. CrowdStrike owns other trademarks and service marks and may use the brands of third parties to identify their products and services.

    Media Contact:

    Jake Schuster

    CrowdStrike Corporate Communications

    press@crowdstrike.com


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  • Iceland offering £1 reward scheme for customers who report a shoplifter | Supermarkets

    Iceland offering £1 reward scheme for customers who report a shoplifter | Supermarkets

    The grocery chain Iceland is offering customers who shop a thief a £1 reward on their loyalty card.

    The frozen food specialist said that anyone who spots a suspected shoplifter in its stores should inform the nearest Iceland employee who will verify the incident before adding the reward to the individual’s loyalty card for immediate use.

    Richard Walker, the executive chair of the family-owned group, told Channel 5 News that thefts cost the retailer £20m and drained resources that could be spent on staff hours or lower prices. “Some people see it as a victimless crime, it is not,” he said.

    He said retail crime was happening right across the UK and not just in tough urban areas: “The scourge of shoplifting on our high streets continues to plague the UK, and the problem is only worsening, with criminal activity spreading across, not just big cities, but our market towns and villages too.

    “In order to combat any activity in Iceland stores, we’re encouraging our loyal customers to help sound the alarm, and if they do help to catch a shoplifter, we’ll top up their Bonus Card to spend in store.”

    In April official figures showed that the number of shoplifting offences recorded by police in England and Wales has risen to the highest level on record, passing half a million offences in 2024.

    Retailers say the figures from the Office for National Statistics “severely underestimate” the scale of the problem, which would amount to only two incidents for each shop a year.

    The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has pointed to a rise in shoplifting by organised gangs stealing to order.

    This week the policing minister, Dame Diana Johnson, warned the public against confronting shoplifters and suggested that retailers should not display expensive items such as alcohol at the front of stores.

    Her comments followed a claim by the Conservative police and crime commissioner for Thames Valley, Matthew Barber, that people had a duty to stand up to shoplifters rather than relying solely on police officers.

    Retailers say that shops have been seen as a soft target since a 2014 change in the law in England and Wales under which those stealing goods worth less than £200 are usually spared any prison term.

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    Big chains have also been accused of contributing to the rise in crime by reducing staff numbers and using more self-service checkouts and handheld “scan and shop” devices in stores to keep costs down.

    However, businesses say they have spent millions of pounds on improving security in recent years, including installing facial recognition and AI-aided cameras.

    The government has set out legislation to help tackle shoplifting, including removing the £200 threshold for “low-level” theft.

    The crime and policing bill, which is working its way through parliament, will also introduce a stand-alone offence of assaulting a retail worker. The government has promised funds to tackle organised gangs involved in shop theft.

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  • Exposure to some common Pfas changes gene activity, new study finds | Pfas

    Exposure to some common Pfas changes gene activity, new study finds | Pfas

    New research suggests exposure to some common Pfas or “forever chemical” compounds causes changes to gene activity, and those changes are linked to health problems including multiple cancers, neurological disorders and autoimmune disease.

    The findings are a major step toward determining the mechanism by which the chemicals cause disease and could help doctors identify, detect and treat health problems for those exposed to Pfas before the issues advance. The research may also point toward other diseases potentially caused by Pfas that have not yet been identified, the authors said.

    The study is among the first to examine how Pfas chemicals impact gene activity, called epigenetics.

    “This gives us a hint as to which genes and which Pfas might be important,” said Melissa Furlong, a University of Arizona College of Public Health Pfas researcher and study lead author.

    Pfas are a class of about 15,000 compounds most frequently used to make products water-, stain- and grease-resistant. They have been linked to cancer, birth defects, decreased immunity, high cholesterol, kidney disease and a range of other serious health problems. They are dubbed “forever chemicals” because they do not naturally break down in the environment

    The study checked the blood of about 300 firefighters from four departments across the country who were exposed to high levels of Pfas. The chemicals are the main ingredient in most firefighting foam, and are frequently used in “turnout gear” worn by firefighters because of their heat repelling properties

    Furlong said she was surprised to find the number of genes and biological pathways that were impacted by Pfas, which suggests the chemicals may cause or contribute to a broad range of health problems. The study did not prove the chemicals cause certain diseases, but findings point to biological changes that might precede disease.

    Genes play a range of roles in developing or preventing disease, and Pfas essentially change the way the genes are supposed to act, Furlong said. A gene may act as tumor suppressor, but the Pfas interferes with how it expresses, which affects whether cancer develops, or the type of cancer.

    For example, PFOS, among the most common and dangerous Pfas compounds, reduces levels of miR-128-1-5p, a gene tied to cancer development. Branched forms of PFOS were linked to changes in five other genes, including some that regulate cancer development.

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    Different Pfas and chemical structures were found to affect different genes, and were associated with different health outcomes. Not all compounds impacted gene expressions.

    The research found connections among Pfas-related gene changes and biological pathways involved in leukemia, as well as bladder, liver, thyroid and breast cancers. Other genes and biological pathways were involved in Alzheimer’s disease, and autoimmune and infectious diseases such as lupus, asthma and tuberculosis.

    Furlong said it remains unclear at which step in the biological processes disease is triggered, but the picture is clear enough to point to possible treatments. Pharmaceutical companies are trying to develop drugs that could alter gene activity and potentially prevent Pfas-linked disease from developing.

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  • Court of Justice of the European Union delivers ruling in Royal Football Club Seraing (C-600/23)

    Court of Justice of the European Union delivers ruling in Royal Football Club Seraing (C-600/23)

    On 1 August 2025, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) delivered its ruling in the case of Royal Football Club Seraing.1 The CJEU found that also in the context of arbitration before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), any arbitral award must be subject to effective judicial review by courts within the EU to ensure consistency with EU public policy. In terms of CAS, the CJEU considered that such “compulsory arbitration” may be legitimate given the legal autonomy of these associations and their pursuit of legitimate objectives like uniform settlement of disputes, but recalled that arbitral awards relating to the pursuit of sport as an economic activity within the EU must provide a path for effective judicial review by courts of EU Member States. This review must also ensure consistency with the principles and provisions of EU public policy, including by empowering courts to draw full legal consequences of any inconsistency and provide interim relief. Finally, the Court also clarified that an arbitral seat located outside the EU does not necessarily prevent such review: what matters is the availability of either direct or indirect review within the EU of such arbitral awards. Without that, CAS awards cannot be granted res judicata status or have probative value in Member States.

    Key Takeaways

    • CAS arbitral awards must be subject to effective judicial review by courts within the EU to ensure consistency with EU public policy.
    • The dispositive factor is not CAS’s location in Switzerland (i.e. outside the EU), but whether direct or indirect judicial review of its awards within the EU is available.

    The Background: Royal Football Club Seraing and CAS arbitration

    In 2015, Royal Football Club Seraing (“RFC Seraing”), a Belgian second-division football club, entered into agreements with Doyen Sports Investment Ltd (“Doyen”), a Maltese investment firm that offers financial assistance to European football clubs. These agreements principally granted Doyen a share of RFC Seraing’s economic rights in relation to four players. Under the first contract, Doyen acquired a 30% share of the economic rights of three players, whilst the second contract provided Doyen with 25% of the economic rights over a fourth player. Together, these contracts form the contracts at issue in the main proceedings.2

    After launching an investigation into the contracts at issue, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee found that RFC Seraing violated Articles 18bis and 18ter of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP) by entering into the contracts. It thus banned the club from registering players for four transfer periods and imposed a fine of CHF 150,000. RFC Seraing subsequently appealed to the FIFA Appeal Committee, which dismissed their appeal.

    The club then turned to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which upheld the fine but reduced the prohibition on registering players from four transfer periods down to three. RFC Seraing then brought an action before the Swiss Tribunal Fédéral (the Swiss Supreme Court), challenging the CAS award. In 2018, the Tribunal Fédéral, dismissed the action.3

    Concurrently, RFC Seraing also brought proceedings before the Belgian courts. In the first instance, the tribunal de commerce francophone de Bruxelles (Brussels Commercial Court), found that it lacked jurisdiction to examine the claims. The club appealed the commercial court’s findings, leading the higher court—the court d’appel de Bruxelles (Court of Appeal, Brussels)—to dismiss all of the claims brought by RFC Seraing.4

    Subsequently, the club appealed a point of law to the Court de cassation (Court of Cassation, Belgium), which then referred two questions of interpretation of EU law to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). These two questions related to the value of CAS arbitral awards under EU law and the extent to which they have the force of res judicata such that their conclusions cannot be reviewed anew by a domestic court in the EU. In particular, the question concerned whether an arbitral award the conformity of which with EU law has been reviewed by a court of a third country that is not permitted to refer a question to the Court of Justice of the European Union for a preliminary ruling, can have the force of res judicata in the EU.

    The CJEU’s Judgment on the Role and Review of CAS Awards

    Effective judicial protection for individuals in the event of recourse to arbitration including CAS arbitration

    At the outset, the Court started with a restatement of the basic principles regarding effective judicial protection for individuals within the European Union, including in the event of recourse to arbitration. The Court pointed out that, irrespective of the rules which may apply to the arbitration body, the awards made by that body must be amenable to judicial review such as to guarantee the effective judicial protection to which the individuals concerned are entitled, pursuant to Article 47 of the Charter, and which the Member States are required to ensure in the fields covered by EU law. According to the Court, it must, in any event, remain possible for the individuals concerned by such awards to obtain a review, by a court or tribunal meeting all the requirements arising from Article 267 TFEU, as to whether such awards are consistent with the principles and provisions which form part of EU public policy and which are relevant to the dispute concerned.5  Following this general overview of principles, the Court moved to discuss their specific application to arbitration before the Court of Arbitration (CAS). It noted that, in light of the statutes and prerogatives of sports associations like FIFA, “recourse to such arbitration mechanisms must be regarded as being unilaterally imposed by such associations on those individuals.” In support of this finding, the Court cited to past cases such as International Skating Union v. Commission and Mutu and Pechstein v. Switzerland. The Court also observed that, even though these arbitration mechanisms result from an agreement with the respective individuals concerned, “the conclusion of that agreement and the insertion in it of a clause providing for recourse to arbitration are, in reality, imposed beforehand by rules that are adopted by the association concerned.”6

    Relying on the Advocate General’s opinion, the Court also described the mandatory nature of these arbitration mechanisms as being:

    “[C]losely linked to the fact that they are intended to apply to disputes between, on the one hand, a sports association with sui generis and particularly extensive regulatory and oversight powers as well as the power to impose sanctions, and, on the other hand, a general and indeterminate group of legal or natural persons who are subject to the exercise of those powers in the pursuit of their professional activity.”7

    However, the Court did acknowledge that recourse to arbitration “may be warranted in principle,” particularly given the “legal autonomy” enjoyed by international sports associations and the pursuit of “legitimate objectives” such as ensuring “the uniform handling of disputes relating to the sporting discipline that is within the purview of their jurisdiction or enabling the consistent interpretation and application of the rules applicable to that discipline.”8

    Hence, the Court acknowledged that sports arbitration mechanisms are permissible and pursue legitimate objectives. However, it proceeded with caution as to their impact on EU law-based reviews of their decisions. As the next section explains, the Court goes on to clarify that any judicial review of arbitral awards must meet certain requirements, with the goal of ensuring that national courts within the EU can “guarantee individuals the effective judicial protection” to which they are entitled.

    CAS decisions that concern EU public policy

    Regarding CAS decisions that implicate EU public policy, the Court stressed that effective judicial review is essential. Stating that “where those disputes relate to the pursuit of sport as an economic activity within the territory of the European Union, the possibility for individuals concerned to obtain judicial review as to whether those disputes are consistent with […] EU public policy is particularly important.”9 The Court confirmed that EU competition law as well as the freedom of movement for workers, the freedom to provide services and the free movement of capital form part of EU public policy.10

    In particular, the Court made it clear that national courts within the EU must be empowered to review how principles and provisions forming part of EU public policy are interpreted and applied in these arbitral awards, such as the CAS award in the present case. The Court explained that:

    “[T]he courts or tribunals of the Member States that are called upon to carry out such a review must, where such an award involves, as in the present case, an interpretation or application of the principles or provisions which form part of EU public policy and which confer rights or freedoms on individuals, be able to review the interpretation of those principles or provisions, the legal consequences attached to that interpretation as regards their application to the case at hand, and the legal classification which was given, in the light of that interpretation, to the facts as established and assessed by the arbitration body.”11

    Moreover, the Court held that national courts cannot simply be empowered to determine whether an award is inconsistent with EU public policy, but they also must be able to draw “all the appropriate legal conclusions where such an inconsistency is found to exist.” Without this, the Court explained, judicial review “would not be effective,” because it would allow for the inconsistencies from the award to persist.12

    Accordingly, individuals must have access to remedies that include not only a finding of infringement and award of damages, but also the ability to end the conduct causing the damage and to seek interim measures—such as requesting a preliminary ruling from the CJEU.

    Finally, the Court concluded that without this effective judicial review complete with the aforementioned remedies, CAS awards cannot be given res judicata or probative value. As the Court explained: “[i]t is the very conferral of such an authority and, consequently, such a value on the arbitral award that […] is in breach of the requirement of effective judicial protection.”13

    The significance of CAS having a seat outside the EU

    In interpreting Article 19(1) TEU, the Court observed that the provision “does not necessarily imply that there must be a direct legal remedy within the territory of the European Union […] the object of which is to enable the individuals concerned to challenge such awards.”14 Whilst not necessary, the Court explained that arbitral awards—such as those issued by CAS—can still be subject to direct legal remedy within the EU if the association provides for it: “[i]t is, however, possible for the sport association concerned to put in place an arbitration mechanism that is subject, in view of the association’s headquarters, to such direct legal remedy within the European Union.”15 This would be the case if the seat of the arbitral tribunal is in the EU for example.

    The Court then clarified that if an arbitral award concerns the pursuit of sport as an economic activity in the EU, and no such direct legal remedy before a court of a Member State exists enabling a challenge of the award, there must still be a route for indirect effective judicial review in a Member State:

    “[A] possibility must exist […] for the individuals concerned to obtain indirectly, at their request or of the court’s or tribunal’s own motion, from any court or tribunal of a Member State that is liable to examine such an award in any manner whatsoever, effective judicial review as to whether that award is consistent with the principles and provisions which form part of EU public policy […]. In the absence of such an indirect review or if that review is not effective […] there would be no legal remedy making it possible to ensure effective judicial protection for the individuals concerned, with the result that the Member State concerned is required to put in place such a remedy.”16

    Hence, the Court’s findings appear to suggest that the dispositive factor is not the physical presence of the arbitral body’s seat, but that there is always an avenue or path for judicial review within the EU—whether directly or indirectly—over the arbitral award itself.

    Whether the Court’s findings are limited to EU public policy

    The Court’s findings appear to specifically concern ensuring the consistency of arbitral awards with the principles and provisions of EU public policy, rather than any EU-law related rule. On several occasions, the Court clarifies that judicial review is essential to ensure that awards are “consistent with the principles and provisions which form part of EU public policy,” and they also specify that the legal autonomy enjoyed by sporting associations cannot justify the exercise of their powers in a way that limits the “rights and freedoms conferred on [individuals] by EU law which form part of public policy.”17

    When addressing the question of legal remedy, the Court states that indirect effective judicial review is required to determine “whether the award is consistent with the principles and provisions which form part of EU public policy,” and that this review must address the “principles or provisions which form part of EU public policy and which confer rights or freedoms on individuals.”18 In various other sections of the ruling, the Court similarly references the ability for national courts within the EU to review the award’s consistency with EU public policy.

    Hence, the judicial review obligations established by the Court in this case seem to apply only in relation to the “principles and provisions which form part of EU public policy” – not to all EU-law rules at large. Conversely, not all EU law qualifies as “public policy”.

    Analysis and Outlook

    The Court’s decision in this case clarified that CAS awards that touch upon matters of EU public policy such as EU competition law and the free movement rules, will always be subject to review by an EU court on public policy grounds and potentially a reference to the CJEU, irrespective of the fact that CAS has its seat outside the EU, in Switzerland.

    However, the Court did not go as far as the Advocate General which had questioned the validity of CAS sports arbitration as such and had not limited the need for review on public policy grounds, but rather had advocated a full merits review of CAS awards. In so doing, the Court refrained from seriously undermining CAS. It did acknowledge the compulsory nature of CAS arbitration clauses imposed by a number of sports associations on individuals for settling their disputes with the association, but did not consider that this necessarily undermined the legitimacy of the CAS arbitration. This being said, the Court made it clear that if the dispute involved matters of EU public policy such as competition law, or the four freedoms, a challenge can be brought before a domestic court in the EU and the CAS award should be reviewed on public policy grounds. Even after a CAS award has rejected any complaints, a case may still be brought before a domestic court which essentially can ignore the CAS award and, where relevant, the Swiss Tribunal Federal’s approval of such an award, when matters of EU public policy are at stake.

    This means that any challenges to rules and decisions of sports associations that are considered to be an abuse of their dominant position for example or a restriction on competition, such as challenges to authorisation rules for alternative competitions, but also other restrictive regulations that affect sport as an economic activity in the EU, such as more recently transfer or agent regulations, must be reviewed on public policy grounds by ordinary courts in the EU.

    The first reaction of CAS to the Court’s ruling was positive, focusing on the finding in favour of CAS’s legitimacy as the forum for resolving sports-related disputes and highlighting that the large majority of disputes before CAS involves contractual and disciplinary matters that are unaffected by this ruling.19

    In short, the Court appears to have opted for an approach that says whether arbitration is seated within the EU or outside it, effective public policy control must still be exercised by national courts. This approach shifts the focus away from where the seat of arbitration is located and onto the effectiveness of judicial control and oversight under EU law, also in sports related matters. At the same time, the Court’s principled approach is of broader importance for arbitration, including commercial arbitration. It reaffirms the duty of national courts in the EU to review arbitral awards on public policy grounds, a review that has to be “effective”, and avoids making the “unilateral imposition” of the agreement to arbitrate as the critical element, which could have opened Pandora’s Box and encouraged losing parties to argue that the arbitration was effectively “imposed” in their case.

    Abdulameir Yahia ( White & Case, Legal Intern, Geneva) co-authored this publication.

    1 CJEU, Case of Royal Football Club Seraing, Case C-600/23, CJEUJudgment, 1 August 2025, available here (Royal Football Club Seraing, CJEU, Judgment).
    2 Royal Football Club Seraing, CJEU, Judgment, paras. 21-24.
    3 Royal Football Club Seraing, CJEU, Judgment, paras. 25-42.
    4 Royal Football Club Seraing, CJEU, Judgment, para. 48.
    5 Royal Football Club Seraing, CJEU, Judgment, para. 85.
    6 Royal Football Club Seraing, CJEU, Judgment, para. 92.
    7 Royal Football Club Seraing, CJEU, Judgment, para. 93.
    8 Royal Football Club Seraing, CJEU, Judgment, para. 94.
    9 Royal Football Club Seraing, CJEU, Judgment, para. 91.
    10 Royal Football Club Seraing, CJEU, Judgment, paras. 88-89.
    11 Royal Football Club Seraing, CJEU, Judgment, para. 101.
    12 Royal Football Club Seraing, CJEU, Judgment, para. 103.
    13 Royal Football Club Seraing, CJEU, Judgment, para. 122.
    14 Royal Football Club Seraing, CJEU, Judgment, para. 99.
    15 Ibid.
    16 Royal Football Club Seraing, CJEU, Judgment, para. 100.
    17 Royal Football Club Seraing, CJEU, Judgment, paras. 91, 95.
    18 Royal Football Club Seraing, CJEU, Judgment, para. 101.
    19 See,
    https://www.tas-cas.org/fileadmin/user_upload/ICAS_statement_CJEU_Seraing_ENG.pdf

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    This article is prepared for the general information of interested persons. It is not, and does not attempt to be, comprehensive in nature. Due to the general nature of its content, it should not be regarded as legal advice.

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  • Hands-on with the Home Assistant Connect ZWA-2 

    Hands-on with the Home Assistant Connect ZWA-2 

    I recently installed the biggest smart home antenna I’ve ever seen, and it helped open up new areas in my smart home, from the attic to the chicken coop. The towering 12-inch-tall Home Assistant Connect ZWA-2, which launched this week for $69, plugs into any Home Assistant system via USB and can connect to any Z-Wave device, including those using the new Long Range (LR) spec.

    I hooked the ZWA-2 up to my Home Assistant Yellow hub and, within minutes, it was controlling a plug all the way at the bottom of my garden. I’ve struggled with connectivity issues in my garden for years. An Eero Outdoor 7 has been a good fix for W-Fi devices such as cameras and robot lawnmowers. Now Z-Wave LR, which uses the same 900MHz band as Z-Wave to connect devices up to a mile and a half away (in ideal conditions), opens the door to using sensors, locks, and other low-powered devices in further-flung corners of my property.

    The antenna itself is almost comically large. To get the best performance, it needs to be out in the open, which means it’s perched on a cupboard in my sitting room. The HA team says it is ”designed to blend into home decor. It not only resembles a candle, but it also lights up like one.” Credit to them for avoiding the “black spider” look, but it still sticks out like a glowing blue sore thumb.

    While the ZWA-2 looks fancy, its limited placement options made it hard to fit into my home decor.

    While the ZWA-2 looks fancy, its limited placement options made it hard to fit into my home decor.

    That size, though, lets it pick up even the faintest Z-Wave signal and should help make your network more responsive and stable. Until now, Z-Wave antenna options in Home Assistant have been in third-party USB sticks about 3 inches long, and on other platforms, they’re generally hidden inside hubs, which can limit their range.

    Setting up the ZWA-2 was easy. I screwed the stick into the base and plugged it into my Yellow using a provided USB A-to-C cable. Home Assistant instantly recognized it, creating a new network. If you already have a Z-Wave network on Home Assistant, a migration tool can move your devices over in a few minutes (I saw a demo that took under 5 minutes).

    The ZWA-2 plugged into a USB-A port on my Home Assistant Yellow hub.

    Setting up the antenna in the Home Assistant app was straightforward.

    For my first test, I used a Zooz Z-Wave LR smart plug ($35) to control two fans in my chicken coop. The coop is located at the bottom of my garden, about 50 yards (150 feet) from the antenna, through two brick walls. I scanned the plug’s QR code, selected the Z-Wave LR option (you can also choose traditional mesh; the antenna can do either), and it onboarded quickly. I then plugged it into an outlet in my garden shed near the coop and ran an extension cord to the fans. Even at that distance, the plug responded instantly to turn the fans on and off.

    Next, I set up a Zooz Z-Wave LR water leak sensor ($39) in my attic, where my HVAC drip pan recently overflowed, leaving a nasty stain on my ceiling. The setup was similarly straightforward. Z-Wave LR is a good solution here because sub-GHz protocols draw less power than Wi-Fi, so the coin cell battery in the sensor should last longer. (There’s no outlet near the unit for a plug-in sensor.)

    I tested an indoor Zooz smart plug in my garden shed.

    I set it up to control the fans in my chicken coop.

    If you use Z-Wave devices, which many Home Assistant users do, and have had trouble with connections or want to automate more areas of your home — a mailbox sensor, a gate sensor, leak detectors in your basement, and so on — the ZWA-2 is an easy recommendation.

    I’ve only been using it for a short while, so I can’t comment on reliability, but so far, the devices I’ve connected have done so smoothly in spots where I’ve struggled to find good options. And while, despite Home Assistant’s admirable efforts, the ZWA-2 really isn’t a décor piece, the range gains are worth the trade-off.

    Photos by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

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  • International Insider: Paramount’s Week One

    International Insider: Paramount’s Week One

    August is a traditionally quiet month, but things are different in 2025, Insider fans, so we’re back earlier than planned. Paramount‘s top-brass have been outlining their plans, and the festival circuit is springing back into life. Jesse Whittock here to bring you the big news. Sign up for the newsletter here.

    Of Paramount Importance

    Mary Kouw/Paramount

    A merry Skydance: As we found out last week, U.S. entertainment’s freshest player on the block is the clunky-sounding Paramount, a Skydance Corporation. This week, we found out what the new kid is planning to do, now he has the keys to the castle. David Ellison, who is now Paramount CEO following completion of his Skydance company’s takeover of the studio biz, almost immediately settled into life as a Hollywood mogul with jargon-heavy press appearances promising he was “looking long-term” to “create value for our shareholders.” He might just be alright in this world, you know. He ruled out making political statements amid ongoing controversy over a $16M payment Paramount made to President Donald Trump in the final days of Shari Redstone’s regime and referenced Walter Kronkite and addressed what his company might look like in future. Stocks went mad, so it sounds like Wall Street is buying it. Anthony D’Alessandro and Justin Kroll had this handy explainer on the potential Paramount movie slate, Nellie Andreeva outlined how TV series production is being divided between two studios, and Jill Goldsmith reported on Paramount+’s game-changing $7.7B, seven-year UFC deal, as sports rights fever continues to engulf America’s streaming players. Par’s new streaming doyenne, Cindy Holland, went deeper on her plans, while Ellison’s right-hand man, Jeff Shell, did the dirty work and addressed coming cuts and the cancellation of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. Among the dozens of developing stories, one international issue will be whether FAST platform Pluto merges with Paramount+. If legal matters are more your taste, you’ll need to keep on top of fund manager and Paramount investor Marco Gabelli, who is suing Ellison’s predecessor, Redstone, over the $2.4B proceeds she and her family took from the Skydance deal.

    Cillian On ‘Steve’

    (L to R) Jay Lycurgo as Shy, Cillian Murphy as Steve in 'Steve'

    Robert Viglasky/Netflix

    By order of the perky producers: Cillian Murphy‘s next feature, Steve, will premiere in Toronto ahead of a theatrical run and then a release on Netflix in October. The drama, which also features some darkly funny moments, is set in the mid-1990s and follows a pivotal day in the life of the titular headteacher and his students at a last-chance boys’ reform school. Peaky Blinders and Oppenheimer star Murphy sat down with Nancy Tartaglione to talk about the film, which includes a rare feature film role for Tracey Ullman, known for her seminal late-1980s show that introduced the world to The Simpsons. Along with Steve writer/executive producer Max Porter, director Tim Mielants and Murphy’s producing partner Alan Moloney, the actor addresses the genesis of the film, developing the characters, the emotional punch of the movie, how it relates to the challenges facing masculinity in the modern world and why everyone should watch 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple when it arrives. Watch the trailer for Steve here.

    Channel 4 Chuckles

    Horsing around at Horseferry Road: It might have taken Charlie Perkins three years to give her first interview as Channel 4’s comedy supremo, but she made the right choice by having that talk with us. In an interview with Max at the UK network’s Horseferry Road headquarters in London, Perkins outlined how Channel 4 is developing a “new wave” of British comedic talent, despite hamstrung budgets and the after-effects on comedians and TV funnies of the global pandemic. New shows are in the works from Katy Wix and Adam Drake, Jess Bray and Alice Snedden, and Josh Pugh, while Munya Chawawa and Bridgerton breakout Charithra Chandran have been cast in another new show, Schooled. Perkins, who is heavily involved with the UK comedy circuit that is currently camped up in Edinburgh at the Fringe Festival, also talked about David Mitchell and Robert Webb’s first new sketch show since 2010, as she conducted the interview in a comedy hat and false moustache. (This is absolutely not true, just my pathetic attempt at injecting some extra humor). Read the interview here and warm your comedy cockles.

    Tough Times For TIFF

     Cameron Bailey and etired Israeli general Noam Tibon in the documentary 'The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue'

    Jeremy Chan / Getty Images / Courtesy

    Rocky path for ‘The Road Between Us’: The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) doesn’t even start until September 4, but it has been making headlines all week on Deadline.com. It all started when Anthony broke the news that the fest had uninvited Canadian filmmaker Barry Avrich’s documentary The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue, which tells the story about retired Israel Defense Forces (IDF) General Noam Tibon, who embarked on a mission to save his family from Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023. Officially, this was due to “general requirements” and specifically legal clearance of footage, but the Road Between Us accused TIFF of censorship, with sources suggesting officials were afraid of the disruptive protests that could accompany a film about an IDF soldier. TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey later in the week told us the censorship claims were “unequivocally false” and said his team working to find a solution. That solution was clearly found soon after, as we then revealed the film would now be selected for the fest’s documentary strand line-up. “We have worked together to find a resolution to satisfy important safety, legal and programming concerns,” read a joint statement from Bailey and Avrich. Sounds like the truth of the matter lay somewhere in the middle of the noise.

    Jackie Chan Charms Locarno

    Jackie Chan

    Alessandro Levati/Getty Images

    Real star power: This year’s Locarno Film Festival ends tomorrow after a starry fortnight of programming. Visitors to the Swiss festival this year included Emma Thompson, Jackie Chan, Alexander Payne, Lucy Liu, Naomi Kawase and Mohammad Rasoulof, who spoke to Zac about his life after leaving Iran and plans to return. It was an impressive line-up, which produced some unique stories. There was Thompson, who told a festival Q&A audience that she was once stalked by Donald Trump in the late 1990s. The 45th and 47th President, she said, called her out of the blue enquiring about a date, shortly after her high-profile divorce was finalized. Jackie Chan mania took over the festival during his brief three-day stretch in Locarno. The veteran Hong Kong actor introduced some of his classic films and received an honorary award. There’s no starpower like international starpower – and that means reaching audiences in Hollywood to the most remote villages in the East and Global South. There are only a few stars still out there with such power, and Mr. Chan is one of them. At a Q&A session in Locarno, he was rushed by adoring fans who handed him gifts, and multiple parents handed their young children over to Chan for pictures. It was a wild ride. On the industry side, Canadian Filmmaker Geneviève Dulude-De Celles won the top prize at the Locarno Pro Awards, and a Piazza Grande screening was paused during the fest for a Gaza protest. Check back on Saturday to see who picks up the festival’s Competition awards. Filmmakers in contention include Radu Jude, Kawase, and Abdellatif Kechiche.

    The Essentials

    Barry Eisler & Tom Winchester team for Rain series

    Barry Eisler and Tom Winchester

    Courtesy (L), Eddie Judd Photography (R)

    🌶️ Hot One: Barry Eisler’s bestselling John Rain books are being adapted for Apple TV+ after the streamer and Tom Winchester’s Pure Fiction label scored the rights.

    🌶️ Another One: YouTube relationship format Blue Therapy has landed its first international adaptation at Belgium’s Streamz.

    🥵 Even more heat: Filipino filmmaker Pedring Lopez will direct UK-set horror The Ascendants.

    🎭 Treading the boards: Kristin Scott Thomas has scored a role in a West End revival of The Cherry Orchard, per Breaking Baz.

    🔔 School bell rings: Seven further cast members were unveiled for the upcoming second season of Prime Video YA hit Maxton Hall – The World Between Us.

    🚪 Exit door: Karin Lindström is leaving her role as Amazon MGM Studios Head of Nordic Originals with a new gig lined up, and Emilia Widstrand will replace her.

    Fests: Sarajevo Film Festival boss Jovan Marjanovic told Diana about the Eastern European fest’s 31st edition, while Seriesly Berlin unveiled its line-up.

    ✍🏻 Addressing the critics: Mubi CEO Efe Cakarel penned an open letter aimed at fending off the mounting criticism of the indie film darling’s links with shareholder Sequoia Capital, which is close with Israeli defense-tech startup Kela.

    🦁 Lion lay-offs: Six staff at All3Media America’s Lion TV US, including co-CEO Allison Corn, have been made redundant following a strategy switch.

    🏆 Oscars: Switzerland and Czech Republic submitted their entries for the Academy’s Best International Feature Film race.

    🍿 Box office: Weapons and Freakier Friday hit cinemas and both outperformed expectations.

    International Insider was written by Jesse Whittock and edited by Stewart Clarke. Zac Ntim contributed

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  • AstraZeneca (AZN) Launches At-Home FluMist as Vaccination Rate Drops

    AstraZeneca (AZN) Launches At-Home FluMist as Vaccination Rate Drops

    AstraZeneca PLC released its flu vaccine nasal spray for at-home use on Friday, an option that comes at a contentious time for vaccine access in the US.

    FluMist Home is the same product as the pharmaceutical company’s seasonal influenza vaccine spray, which has been offered by clinicians for the past two decades. FluMist Home received approval for patients ages 2 and up from the US Food and Drug Administration last fall.

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  • Talk Therapy Less Effective in Young vs Middle-Aged Adults

    Talk Therapy Less Effective in Young vs Middle-Aged Adults

    TOPLINE:

    NHS Talking Therapies for anxiety and depression (TTad) were less effective for adults aged 16-24 years than for those aged 25-65 years, a cohort study of over 1.5 million people revealed.

    METHODOLOGY:

    • Researchers conducted a retrospective cohort study using the data of 309,758 young adults (aged 16-24 years; 69.4% women; 82.5% White) and 1,290,130 working-age adults (aged 25-65 years; 65.2% women; 83.6% White) who received psychological treatment through England’s NHS TTad services between 2015 and 2019.
    • The primary outcome was the change in symptom severity scores on the Patient Health Questionnaire nine-item (PHQ-9) and Generalised Anxiety Disorder Scale seven-item (GAD-7) between age groups.
    • Secondary outcomes were rates of recovery, reliable recovery, reliable improvement, and reliable deterioration.
    • The analysis was adjusted for gender, ethnicity, local area deprivation, clinical factors, treatment intensity, and the number of sessions.
    • Sensitivity analyses included geographical and temporal variation in age-related differences and adults older than 65 years in the working-age group.

    TAKEAWAY:

    • Differences in pre-post symptom severity scores on the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 increased with age.
    • In the unadjusted analysis, young adults experienced smaller improvements in PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores than working-age adults (PHQ-9: b, -0.98; GAD-7: b, -0.77; P < .001 for both). The magnitude of difference was smaller in the adjusted analysis.
    • Young adults had lower rates of reliable recovery (41.5% vs 48.2%; adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.76), reliable improvement (68.6% vs 72.6%; aOR, 0.83), and recovery (43.7% vs 51.1%; aOR, 0.74) but higher rates of reliable deterioration (5.9% vs 5.2%; aOR, 1.15) than working-age adults.
    • Age-related differences were consistent across regions and treatment years, with London having the smallest difference (3.0%) and the South West having the largest difference (~6.5%), and unchanged when including adults older than 65 years.

    IN PRACTICE:

    “Getting young adults into treatment more quickly, offering them treatment in a convenient and desired format, and working hard to ensure they stay in treatment have the potential to improve outcomes for this group. Addressing social factors that are of particular concern to emerging adults — eg, job and housing insecurity — might also be required to improve outcomes in young adults,” the authors wrote. “Considering and trialling adaptions tailored to specific requirements of this age group, the management of information on mental health and mental illness, as well as expectations of treatment, might also be necessary,” they added.

    SOURCE:

    This study was led by Rob Saunders, PhD, and Jae Won Suh, DPhil, University College London, London, England. It was published online on August 6 in The Lancet Psychiatry.

    LIMITATIONS:

    The use of routinely recorded health service data limited the availability of measures on general well-being and personal sense of improvement. Although the analysis was adjusted for neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and intellectual disability, the severity of these conditions and other potential confounders, such as gender identity, sexual orientation, and social support, were not captured. Moreover, unmeasured differences in treatment delivery and other common disorders in young adults may have influenced the results, and the findings were not generalisable to non-binary individuals due to limited data availability.

    DISCLOSURES:

    This study was funded by the UK National Institute for Health and Care Research. The authors reported having no conflicts of interest.

    This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.

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